Everything's Meant to be Broken
by venividivici04
Summary: After a weekend singing camp trip Sarai discovers her family isn't as normal as she believes they are. Her parents and uncles have been keeping secrets from her, and one tragic night will change her life.
1. Chapter 1

"Oh my god, dad, you're killing me!" Sarai threw her hands in the air dramatically.

"What's new?" Dean slammed plates on dining room table.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Melody said, coming into the dining room. "What's going on here?"

"Mom, he's ruining my life again!" Sarai said.

"Oh, he is?" Melody moved over to her husband and kissed him before setting down the groceries in the kitchen. "What did he do?"

"Make me the bad guy," Dean said under his breath.

"Dad says I can't go to the singing camp this weekend because there will be boys there." Sarai tried to explain as quickly as she could, still frustrated with her dad. "There will only be like two boys there. In case you didn't notice, singing camps don't draw that many boys in."

"It only takes one," Dean said. "Therefore, no."

"But this isn't fair! Everyone else is allowed to go! Even Michelle!"

"Both of you," Melody cut in. "Treehouse! Now."

Both groaned and trudged out of the house to the largest tree in the front yard. Stacks of lumber were piled under the blooms of the tree, accented with boxes of nails and two hammers.

"Gear up," Dean said fastening his work belt around his waist and loading it with nails and his hammer. Sarai groaned and did the same. "I just think your camp could become real sticky real fast." Dean began to hammer a board into the tree.

"But Dad, there will only be two boys there," Sarai said.

"Is that the truth?"

Sarai supported another board so her father could nail it in straight.

Sarai sighed. "No. At least seven boys signed up. But I knew if I told you that you wouldn't let me go."

"And you think I'm going to let you go now that I know more boys are going."

"If it helps," Sarai said quietly, "three of them are gay."

Dean rested his forehead on his arm and laughed. "How about, you can go, but you can't stay overnight."

"It's almost two hours from here."

"Then I guess we'll have to have a little camping trip of our own. But far enough away from everyone else that no funny business can happen."

"It won't be as fun, but I guess I'll have to take it." Sarai smiled. "I guess we have a deal. You're just so old sometimes." Dean nudged his daughter gently with a smile.

"Have you two made up yet?" Melody called from the house.

"Yes," Dean and Sarai said in tandem with the attitude of fifteen-year-olds.

"Get in here! Dinner's ready!"

Dean wrapped his arm around Sarai's shoulders and they walked back to the house.


	2. Chapter 2

"You really do that fast," Dean said, walking into his master bathroom. Melody was braiding Sarai's hair into long brown strands and adorning them with silver and gold charms.

"Well, we don't want her bringing back leaves and dirt to be lost forever in this head of hair. Especially with all that head banging Sarai is known for," Melody said, a beautiful smile spreading across her face. Her smile was the reason Dean married her, and he couldn't resist planting a gentle kiss on her neck. Melody gave a slight giggle.

"You two are extremely nauseating," Sarai said, mimicking gagging sounds.

"Hey, Uncle Sam wants to come with us. Is that cool?"

"Yeah. As long as you two don't try and act like you're cool again. For example, asking if it's cool if Uncle Sam comes. That was so three years ago."

Dean mimicked his daughter's facial expression. "It's supposed to get cold this weekend. Pack something warm."

"Got it."

"And don't forget your sleeping mat."

"Check."

"And your tennis shoes."

"Dad, you're suffocating me," Sarai said dramatically. "I've been camping before. I know how to pack. Gah!"

"Oh my god," Dean mimicked. "I'm a teenage girl and everything ruins my life."

"Now you understand," Sarai said.

"That still doesn't mean you make any sense."

"Oh, I am so glad you two are going camping," Melody said. "It'll give me a weekend of peace."

"Mom," Dean and Sarai moaned.

"I've got four more braids left before you go," Melody said. "Did you remember the tent?"

"Yes," Dean said.

"Did you pack the tarps?"

"Yes."

"Did you pack food?"

"Oh my god, you're suffocating me," Dean said, much like his daughter. "I've been camping before." He cleared his throat. "Hey, kid, what do you want to eat?"

Melody whacked him gently with her comb. "The cooler is in the garage. Don't forget the ice."

Dean smiled mischievously and left the bathroom.

"Do you see what I have to live with?" Sarai said.

"I know you'd hate to admit it, but you are just like your daddy," Melody said.

"Mamma, I am nothin' like Daddy."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart. All right, your braids are done. I better go check on your father to make sure he's packing actual food, not just beer and pie. Grab your stuff."

Sarai adjusted her overall shorts and tied her plaid button-down around her waist. She heard a knock at the door and trolloped downstairs.

"You have to have more than just pie and beer," Melody said from the kitchen. Sarai heard her mother unpack the contents of the cooler. "What is Sarai supposed to eat? She needs some protein. She's going to be doing a lot of dancing. She needs all the energy she can get."

"She can have the beer," Dean suggested. From the silence, Sarai figured her mother was giving her father a look. "I'm not giving up my pie."

Sarai opened the door and immediately hugged the waist of her massive uncle.

"Hey kiddo," Sam said. "How's it goin?"

"Good. Come in. Mom's just trying to get Dad to pack something nutritious."

"Beer and pie again?"

"Yup."

Sam and Sarai entered the kitchen during her parents' kiss.

"Ew!" Sarai and Sam said, scrunching their faces at the scene.

"Get a room," Sam said.

"We have one," Dean said. "But for some reason, someone thinks they have the right to come in at any time." He glared at Sarai lovingly through raised eyebrows.

"I'm a fifteen-year-old girl. Everything in the house is mine."

"At least she's a normal teenage girl," Melody said.

"Thanks, Mom. Can we go now?"

"Did you make sure Beans has enough hay? And fill Rupert's bowl?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Let's get this show on the road," Dean said.

They threw the rest of the luggage in the bed of the old, beige truck and piled into the cab. Sarai fiddled with the radio stations as they headed down the road.

"Is Uncle Cass coming with us?" Sarai said between the static of empty radio stations.

"He doesn't camp very well," Sam said, timidly, trying not to let anything slip. "What are those charms in your hair?"

"I don't know," Sarai said, grabbing a braid. "They're pretty cool, though."

"Yeah."

While Sarai was distracted by a song playing on the radio, Sam motioned for Dean to look at the charms in Sarai's hair. The handmade and intricately designed charms were symbols to ward against demons and angels alike.


	3. Chapter 3

With the three of them, it was easy and quick to set up camp. Two miles away from the dance camp, but at least her dad let her go.

"What's the plan for your singing thing?" Dean said, adding kindling to the fire and put a pot of beans on.

"Well, there's a dinner tonight," Sarai said, "but it's just burgers. Orientation is tomorrow morning at eight, and then we do miniature camps until six when we perform, and then dinner at seven. Then they go home. It's kind of cold tonight, isn't it?"

"Put that plaid thing on." Dean motioned to Sarai's button down with his mixing spoon.

"Ew, no. That's a fashion faux pas. You don't actually wear the shirt; you keep it around your waist."

"What is the purpose of that?"

"Remember the little girl that would be dirty from head to toe within the first twenty minutes of camping?" Sam said.

"Yeah," Dean said. What happened to her?"

"Oh, Uncle Sammy, Daddy, she's still here." Sarai rested her hands on her chest. "She just has better fashion sense."

Dean laughed. "Go get your jacket. I put your bag in the tent."

When Sarai ducked into the tent, Sam felt it safe to speak.

"I thought you didn't want Sarai to know," Sam said.

"I don't. That's how I protect her."

"Then what about those charms in Sarai's hair?"

"There was a demon not far from our house a few weeks ago. Melody told me that if I wasn't going to train Sarai, then I had to let her put those protection symbols in her hair and other places she wouldn't see. She has no clue what they mean."

"Is everything ok now?"

"Yeah. Everything's good."

Sarai crawled out of the tent and took her seat on an old stump that had many initials etched in and encircled in hearts. Dean handed her and Sam a dish of beans.

"If you two fart all night tonight like you did the last time we went camping, I will stab you with that spoon." Sarai pointed a warning finger at Sam and Dean.

"We all know that that was you," Dean said.

"Yeah, sure it was," Sarai said. "Maybe it was a ghost, or a fart demon or something."

Dean and Sam glanced at each other in a moment of paranoia.

"Oh, calm down, you two," Sarai said. She took a mouthful of beans. "There's no such thing as ghosts or demons. Santa is real though."

"Here," Dean handed her his bottle of beer.

"Really?" Sarai said, shocked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, sure."

Sarai took the cold bottle from him. "Mom's going to kill you, you know."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt you."

Sarai tentatively placed the bottle of beer to her lips and took a swig. She immediately spit the liquid out into the fire, causing a momentary blaze to encompass the pot of beans.

"It tastes like carbonated pee," Sarai said, trying not to choke on the fluid. Sam and Dean erupted in laughter. She handed the beer back and Dean took a sip.

"Sam and I are going hunting tomorrow while you're at camp, so if you need us…well…don't."

"We are?" Sam tried to whisper to Dean. Dean nodded in return, taking another swig of his beer.

"Ok, just remember that Mom doesn't want any dead animals hanging in the garage. So don't bring anything back."

"Bed time," Dean said.

Sarai stuck her tongue out at her father, but did as he told. She snuggled deep into her sleeping bag; ready to have the sounds of nature lull her to sleep. She was almost asleep when she thought she heard her uncle and father speaking at the fire.

"So, hunting," Sam said. "I didn't think you were still into that."

"I'm not. But there was a demon sighting not far from here. I thought we could check it out while we were in the neighborhood."


	4. Chapter 4

"Rise and shine, kid!" Dean's booming voice shocked Sarai awake. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, but Sarai still had to begin her day, much to her dismay. "Breakfast is almost ready. Get dressed, and don't forget your sunscreen."

"One of the perks of being half black," Sarai said, groggily. "I don't burn as easily as you albinos."

"Brat."

"Spot on." Sarai waved her finger dazedly and snuggled back into sleeping bag.

She was almost back to sleep when unimaginably strong hands grabbed her feet under the sleeping bag and ripped her out of the tent. A rift in her stomach formed and she screamed as she drug her fingers through the dirt of their campsite.

"Dad!" She screamed. "Demons!"

Sarai stopped moving and looked up to find her dad letting go of her feet.

"What?" He said, slightly astonished. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"I don't know, a dream or something" Sarai said, trying to catch her breath. "Or maybe because my demonic father is trying to make his only daughter die from a heart attack before her time! Wait, what time is it?"

"Time for you to get dressed and eat some breakfast," Dean said, trying to change the subject like he had the previous night with the beer.

It didn't take Sarai long to get ready for the day, and they were soon all packed into the truck and on their way to meet the others.

"We'll pick you up at eight," Dean said, the truck idling. Sam let Sarai out of the truck and handed her her backpack. "Have fun."

"Will do." She kissed her dad's cheek through the window and waved as she walked away.

"Sar!" Michelle ran towards Sarai. "We're going to be late for orientation!"

Michelle slid her arm through Sarai's and dragged her to the common area where orientation was being held. A smudging of guilt fluttered through Sarai as she realized she still hadn't told her father the whole truth. Nearly all the schools in the entire county were a part of this camp. A lot more than seven boys. Sarai felt guilty throughout the orientation, but she knew as soon as she got into the classes her guilt would ease.

"This camp is a beast." Michelle slammed her lunch tray on the table and plopped down across from Sarai.

"I love it," Sarai said. "This is amazing! I've learned so much!"

"Well, I'm glad you have. What classes have you had so far?"

"Classical and Musical. I'm taking Pop and R&B after lunch. What about you? What did you take?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Michelle played with her mashed potatoes, hoping to avoid the conversation.

"You took Bluegrass, didn't you?" Sarai struggled to keep a straight face. "I told you not to take that."

"Yeah, well, I thought it would be easy. I did learn one thing, though."

"What's that?"

"I'm better at directing than singing. I came up with a few ideas while I was trapped in the wonderful land of Dolly Parton. We'll have to go over them on the bus."

The warning bell rang accompanied by the screech of wood chairs on tiled floors as the students stood and scrambled to their next class. Michelle shoveled potatoes into her mouth for a last attempt at lunch.

"You probably shouldn't do that," Sarai warned. "It'll make you all gunky."

"What do I care?" Michelle said, her mouth full of white mush. "I sound like a crow when I sing anyway. Call your dad and see if you can come home with me. I'll see you at the performance."

The next few hours were amazing for Sarai. The excitement of learning new things about her interests combined with the exhilaration of performing in front of hundreds of people mixed with her father letting her go home on the bus made the weekend one of the best Sarai had ever experienced. She shook her foot impatiently on the bus waiting for Michelle to sit next to her.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sorry," Michelle said, dropping on the seat next to Sarai. "I got on the wrong bus."

"Again, Michelle? Really?"

Michelle stuck her tongue out and pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail, ready for business.

"Now, I have this really cool idea for that one song "Once Upon a Dream" from that one Disney movie," Michelle said. "That one with that dragon looking lady and the stupid blonde…"

"_Sleeping Beauty_?" Sarai said.

"Yeah, that one. I'm thinking, what if we put that song in a minor key and dress you up all creepy and what-not? Can you see it?"

"I think so."

The trip home flew by as Michelle and Sarai planned their next music video. Every detail mattered, but they seemed to plan the entire script to the last element. The sun was slinking behind the mountains as the bus pulled up the ranch driveway. After saying her goodbyes, she took a glance at the house; the completely dark house. Sarai assumed her mother was out with friends. After all, Sarai, Sam, and Dean weren't expected to be home until the next day.

Chills scraped Sarai's spine as she stepped into the house. The power was cut making any attempt to turn the lights on impossible. Don't be that stupid girl who goes to the basement when she knows there's a monster down there, Sarai thought. But something was in the house, something Sarai needed to save.

"Damn it," Sarai said.

She grabbed an umbrella from the umbrella stand for a weapon of some sort. She pulled out her phone and dialed her dad.

"Hey, kid," Dean said. "What's up?"

"Dad," Sarai whispered, "something's wrong."

"Get Beans. Go to your grams's." Dean's tone changed instantaneously making Sarai even more frightened.

"Daddy, I can't."

"Sarai, do as I say."

Silently, Melody swept towards her daughter in a whisper and grabbed her around the waist. Sarai dropped her phone as her mother dragged her into the closet under the stairs.

"Mom, what's going on?"

"Baby, I need you to grab Rupert and Beans and go to Grams's." Melody was fidgeting with her jacket, trying to zip it up over a gash on her abdomen.

"Mamma, you're bleeding. What's going on?" Tears were forming in Sarai's' eyes due to fright and panic of the unknown. "We need to call the cops or something."

"Baby, listen to me." Melody placed her bloodstained palms on Sarai's cheeks, her blood staining her skin darker than normal. "I need you to go to your grams's."

"I'm not going to leave you."

"Baby, I'll be right behind you, but I need you to go first. I need to make sure you're safe before I come after you."

Sarai felt as though her mother was lying to her, but she needed to do what her mother told her.

"Beans is saddled and ready to go, but I gave Rupert some Benadryl so he would stop barking. You'll need to lift him onto Beans. Go. Now."

Melody nearly shoved her daughter out of the closet into untamed house. Sarai stumbled as she scampered to the front door. Freedom lay just behind the door but was robbed as someone, or something, knocked Sarai off her feet and dragged her toward the kitchen. Sarai screamed and dragged her nails on the carpets to try and slow her attacker, but she was no match to the strength that was pulling her backwards. She screamed louder and louder with every inch she was pulled, but a sudden blow to her head cut the scream harshly.


	6. Chapter 6

Sarai struggled to open her eyes as she regained consciousness. Her head throbbed, and to Sarai, it felt as though the only way to keep the headache at bay was to close her eyes. But she convinced herself she needed to open them, to help her mom, to escape. She finally mustered the strength to pull her eyelids apart and take in the scene. When she did, she saw an unknown man unconscious, or dead, in the corner and her mother was standing over him with a cheese knife. Blood dripped from the tip of the blade, slowly and maniacally. Sarai felt cold and empty. Something wasn't right.

"Mom?"

Melody turned and walked with a demonic swag toward Sarai. Sarai sat up and scooted back as far as she could, but that was only to the lower kitchen cupboards.

"Your mother's not in right now, but I'll be sure to leave her a message." Melody blinked and her eyes went black. "Of sorts."

"Mom, you're scaring me."

"I'm not your mom! I already told you that."

"What are you?" Sarai was shaking profusely, confused and scared.

"That, my friend, is a good question. You're more like your father than I originally thought. _What_ instead of _who_. Good observation. Although, I'm not sure how I feel about a _thing_. But the point still stands." Melody stared at Sarai, waiting for a response. "Oh, right! Sometimes I get distracted. I'm a demon."

"You're joking, right? There's no such thing as demons."

"If I wasn't mistaken, I would think you weren't a hunter. Or a Winchester for that matter."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Just give me back my mother. Please." Sarai wiped tears from her cheeks.

"Ah, thank you again. Like I said, I get distracted."

The demon possessing Melody lifted the knife and slid it down her forearm. Blood flowed out of her arm and onto the floor.

"Stop it!" Sarai screamed. "What are you doing?"

"Those fancy little symbols in your hair keep me from touching you, but your mother…I can't say I'm not surprised, but she's fair game." The demon swapped the knife hands and cut the other forearm.

"Stop hurting her!"

"I'm surprised you believed my story so fast. I suppose though, you are a Winchester after all." Two cuts to each thigh, deep and precise. Sarai tried to advance, but the demon threw her back against the cupboards with a loud slam. "Ah, ah, ah."

"I don't understand why you're doing this."

"That's the beauty of it." To cuts to each side of the throat, nearly missing the jugular vein and carotid artery. "You don't have to understand." Pools of blood were collecting on the floor. Sarai wasn't sure how the demon was still standing. "And for the grand finale…"

The demon raised the blade over her head and brought it down with brute strength penetrating deep into her torso. Sarai's accompanying scream echoed through the compound.

"Ta ta. For now." The demon gave one final smirk before escaping Melody's body in wafting black smoke. The smoke found its way into the man's body in the corner and the two of them ran from the house.

"Sarai?"

Her mother's voice brought Sarai back to the moment. Melody was weak with not much blood left in her body. The kitchen knife was sticking out of Melody's torso. Melody dropped harshly to her knees then crashed to the floor, lying in a mattress of her own blood.

"Mom." Sarai crawled over to her mother and lifted her mother's head onto her lap. "We need to call the ambulance."

"No." Her mother was harsh. "Baby, no. Your father will be home soon. We just have to wait for him."

Sarai reached for the blade to pull it out, but her mother stopped her.

"Leave it. Don't take it out."

"Momma, we really need to call an ambulance. You've lost a lot of blood."

"No." Melody tried to add another reply, but all she could manage were soft glottals in her throat.

The slamming open of the front door startled Sarai.

"Melody!" Dean yelled at the front of the house.

"In here," Sarai replied, embarrassed by her shaky voice.

"Grab her," Dean told Sam, motioning to Sarai.

Dean skidded to a stop and crashed to the floor. Sam pulled Sarai away and held her in an embrace as she cried into his jacket.

"Mel, I'm here now," Dean said. "Mel, talk to me."

"Dean." Melody's voice was just above a whisper. "Promise me you'll teach her. Teach her everything. She needs to be able to protect herself. Promise."

"All right," Dean said, placing his wife's chilling hand to his lips. His entire body shook with heartache. "I promise."

"My life didn't begin until I met you."

"No, don't talk like that. We're going to get Cass here, and you're going to be ok."

"Sarai," Sam spoke softly, not wanting to detract from the moment. "Pray for Cass."

"What?"

"Pray for Uncle Cass to come."

Sarai nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, not entirely sure what to do, but she tried anyway.

"Where is Cass?" Dean said.

"This is meant to be," Melody said.

"No, not it's not. We can fix this. We have to fix this. Just hold on until Cass gets here. Just hold on."

"Dean, I love you with all my heart. You and Sarai. Take care of her." Melody closed her eyes in a gentle flutter.

"Don't do this. God, where the hell is Cass?"

"Dean." Cass stepped into the kitchen from the living room.

"Cass. Get your ass over here and heal her."

Castiel kneeled next to Melody and hovered his hands over her body.

"It's not working," Castiel said.

"What the hell are you talking about? Fix her!"

"Dean, I can't. She's refusing me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she won't let me heal her. She won't let me put her back in her body. Wait a minute. She's telling me something. She wants to tell Sam something."

"What does she say?" Sam said.

"She wants you to watch them. She wants you to make sure they're ok and they eat more than beer and pie. She also knows that you let Dean let Sarai drink beer." Sam chuckled. "She wants Sarai to mind her grams and dad. And she's telling me…that's not very nice. I think that could be considered rude."

"What'd she say?" Dean rubbed his face, his lip still quivering.

"She said I need to stop being a stick in the mud. I thought I was fairly tolerable."

"So," Sarai said, her small voice breaking through the group's thoughts. "So mom's…mom's g-gone?"

"She is in Heaven, that is correct," Castiel said.

"Cass," Sam said as Sarai erupted into tears, "Now's not a good time."

"What do you mean? Oh. Melody just told me. She's saying goodbye now."

Dean stood and swiped all of the contents of the kitchen island onto the floor with one stroke of his arm. Sam quickly led Sarai upstairs to her room. After sitting Sarai on the bed, Sam grabbed a damp cloth and began wiping the blood off her arms and face.

"Demons," Sarai mumbled, her entire body shaking. "Demons, demons, demons."

"What are you saying?" Sam asked as he set a bundle of clothing on the bed next to her.

"Demons. Demons."

"Um…put your pajamas on. I need to talk to Cass real quick. I'll be right back."

In a daze, Sarai changed out of her day clothes and put her flannel pajamas one. She couldn't think of anything except for demons. Not the actual demon, just the word. The sequence of simple letters forming a simple word.

"How are you doing?"

"Cold," Sarai said simply. "I'm cold. I'm cold."

"Here, get in bed." Sam pulled the covers down and helped her into bed, tucking her tightly into the sheets. Sam stroked her braids. "Get some sleep." He kissed her forehead before leaving Sarai to her dreams.


End file.
